Michigan Integrative Musculoskeletal Health Core Center ? Core C Project Summary Project Summary Composition, architecture, and structure across physiological hierarchies, at the organ, tissue, matrix and nanoscale-levels, are key intermediate traits that link gene expression with functional outcomes; however, analysis of these traits requires advanced and costly instruments and supporting expertise in chemistry, engineering, and biomedical imaging. The Structural and Compositional Assessment Core (Core C) will provide access to the facilities and skilled knowledgeable experts necessary to quantify composition, architecture, and structure of all musculoskeletal tissues. Core C will include micro-Computed Tomography (CT), nano- Computed Tomography (nano-CT), in-vivo micro-Computed Tomography (in-vivo CT) and Raman spectroscopy as its major components. These technologies were chosen for their broad applicability and their large user base at the University of Michigan. Investigators at Michigan pioneered the use of CT and Raman spectroscopy to study musculoskeletal tissues and are leaders in applying these technologies to solve musculoskeletal problems. Core C will leverage their expertise to support the current Research Community, both intellectually and financially, in performing structural and compositional analyses of all musculoskeletal tissues. Core C will also focus, as part of its mission, on expanding its offerings to enhance the opportunities available and to expand the Research Community. Four Aims are proposed: the Core will provide expertise and guidance on the design of experiments in Aim 1, and in Aim 2, access to state-of- the-art technologies and experts to allow quantification of tissue composition, architecture, and structure and training in these in methods. Further, in Aim 3, the Core will provide guidance with interpretation of results and make recommendations for future studies. Lastly, the overall goal of Aim 4 is to enable the research community through ongoing technology development and education. Genetic and/or environmental perturbations often lead to measureable changes in structure and architecture that have mechanical and other functional consequences. Therefore, accurately quantifying these traits is critical to advancing understanding of the mechanisms underlying musculoskeletal biology and health and to develop and evaluate strategies for the prevention and treatment of disease.